A beverage dispensing appliance is known from EP 2 543 291 A1. The document discloses a beverage production machine comprising a brewing head for the production of a beverage, the brewing head comprising a brewing chamber comprising at least two brewing chamber portions movable with respect to each other, a water heater, a hot water duct for feeding hot pressurized water in said brewing chamber from said water heater, a dispensing duct from which said beverage is dispensed, and a structural frame supporting said at least two brewing chamber portions, on which forces generated by the pressurized water in the brewing chamber during brewing are discharged, wherein said structural frame includes said water heater.
The consumables (also called single-serve units or disposable consumables) currently in use are basically of two types. One type of consumable is generally called a “capsule” and is basically a unit with rigid walls containing the food substance and that has two bases through which the extraction water passes. The capsules are placed into chambers defined by two bodies, one shaped to receive most of the capsule and a closing body which tightly seals the chamber. The water is introduced into the chamber and then traverses the capsule. Thanks to the rigid shape of the capsule, the hydraulic seals of the chamber allow the water to basically traverse the capsule without recirculating the extracted substance through the chamber.
A second type of consumable of a flat shape is generally called a “pod” (or “pad”) and may consist of two sections made of thin soft material, cut and paired in order to define a cavity in which the food substance is placed. The material may be for example paper, or a cloth or a non-woven fabric with filtering properties. The two sections are generally circular and are coupled along their outer edges, defining an outer annular flange. The machines which use pods may have two half-shells which are sealed to define a chamber where the pod is placed. Specifically, the annular flange of the pod may be received between the opposite surfaces of the half-shells, defined outside the chamber. Generally, coffee-based pods may be regarded as pre-packaged ground coffee beans in their own filter.
WO 2014/057094 A1 discloses a food capsule comprising a cup-shaped capsule body enclosing a cavity, said capsule body comprising a first end and a second end, said first end comprising an opening communicating with said cavity and said second end comprising at least one outlet communicating with said cavity, an injection wall closing said opening of said first end of said capsule body, and at least one partition disposed within said cavity and dividing said cavity into a plurality of chambers. Consequently, so-called multi-chamber capsules are described. However, WO 2014/057094 A1 further teaches that a respective dispensing appliance (referred to as food preparation machine) preferably comprises a plurality of injection needles each of which is assigned to a respective chamber so as to pierce the chambers and to supply the chambers with hot pressurized water. Consequently, a brewing head (also referred to as processing unit herein) of such a dispensing appliance is rather costly and requires relatively complex control arrangements.
The present disclosure focuses on capsule-type consumables. There is a general need to further improve the flavor, quality and appearance of dispensed foodstuff products, particularly coffee-based or similar beverages. Furthermore, there is a general need to further increase the variety of foodstuff products that can be obtained from dispensing appliances that are capable of processing single-serve units.